Karen Anderson's Page

I am tempted to claim that Republicans are bottom-feeding low-lives whose values are so twisted by arrogance and the will to power that they are willing to lie, abuse power, and use character assassination to achieve their goals--but that would be negative. At present, this election is about more than the policy alternatives presented by two candidates. It is, instead, about dealing a death blow to the poison that Republicans have injected into our politics for far too long.

To take but one exa… Continue

On balance, the only thing surprising about last night’s vice presidential debate was that Sarah Palin did not make any serious gaffes. After weeks of tutorials on policy issues and days of rehearsal, she played her part well. Using folksy language, winks and smiles, she tried to use charm to disguise the fact that she was evading many of the questions put to her while offering the same tired themes that have characterized Republican politics since 1980. Her well-scripted performance, combined w… Continue

If events of the past week have demonstrated anything, it is that the economic ideas and practices first popularized by Ronald Reagan are utterly bankrupt. At present, deregulation is receiving the most attention, but it is one element in the Republican economic package that includes tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy, the destruction of the social welfare state through privatization or financial starvation, and the discrediting or elimination of all institutions that could offer altern… Continue

While watching prominent supporters of John McCain’s campaign for the presidency use sarcasm and derision while describing Barack Obama’s candidacy, one question loomed for me. Why does this give these people so much pleasure? What emotions loom behind the sneers? Why do so many privileged people enjoy feeling victimized, whether by “big government” or Democrats or the purportedly liberal media? How can anyone believe the Republican Party, whose major economic policy for thirty years has been ta… Continue

When John McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his choice to be the Vice-President, she stated that she would advance Hillary Clinton’s efforts to break the glass ceiling American women face in national politics. When Clinton was a candidate, however, Palin said that she could not support her because she was “whining” about sexism in the media. Sarah Palin is a freeloader and an ingrate. She takes advantages of the opportunities presented to her by generations of activists while doing nothing to saf… Continue